CBS Adopts Sony's HDCAM SR

March 4, 2004

Starting in the 2004-2005 television season, CBS says it will accept HD content on Sony's HDCAM SR format, making the Tiffany network the first commercial broadcaster to adopt the format for both acquisition and delivery of hi-def material.The initial HDCAM SR machines will be installed at the CBS production center in Hollywood.

Bob Seidel, CBS VP of engineering and advanced technology says the network selected HDCAM-SR for its 539 Mbps data rate, 12 channels of digital audio and its ability to handle pre-read and three lines of metadata data per field.

"The metadata capability is crucial to providing such services as captioning for the hearing impaired, V-chip data, audio metadata and the broadcast flag for protecting digital broadcast content from unauthorized Internet redistribution," Seidel said.